New Delhi. After the crushing defeat of the Congress in the recent assembly elections, several leaders of the party’s ‘G23’ group held a meeting on Friday to discuss the strategy ahead. Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari attended the meeting held at the residence of former Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad. There has been no public statement from these leaders so far.
Sources say that the leaders of ‘G23’ included in the Congress Working Committee may raise the issue of electoral defeat in the working committee meeting and their old demand for necessary changes in the party organization and ensuring accountability.
Delhi | Senior Congress leaders Manish Tewari and Kapil Sibal arrive at the residence of party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. pic.twitter.com/SPEKtAPw4t
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2022
“G23” group key members Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma are included in the Congress Working Committee. The leaders of the ‘G23’ group of Congress had written a letter to the party president Sonia Gandhi in August, 2020, demanding a radical change in the active president and organization in the Congress. The meeting of the leaders of the ‘G23’ group assumes significance after the Congress’s defeat in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
On the other hand, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge termed the party’s defeat in the assembly elections as unfortunate and hoped that the Congress would win back the trust of the people very soon. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge tweeted, “In my political career of 50 years, I have seen many ups and downs. It was unfortunate to see the results of the assembly elections, but we must remember that only we can fight the fascist forces. We will soon win the trust of the people again.”
Retweeting Kharge’s tweet, Congress leader Salman Soz said, “We need to be inclusive. We need peers and partners. This is the fight of all those who oppose the RSS-BJP and believe in the “Idea of India”. (agency)